City Gets the Word (and Needles) Out Over New Law Requiring a Whooping Cough Vaccine

For the first time next fall, all California middle and high school students will have to prove they’ve been vaccinated against whooping cough and to insure access, the Department of Public Health is hosting a series of clinics this spring that will provide the vaccine for free. It normally costs about $70 in a pharmacy.

Ideally, kids should go to their health care providers for the vaccinations, said Lisa Hedden of the San Francisco Department of Public Health, Communicable Disease and Prevention Unit.

The free vaccine clinics are just a “safety net” for those without access to a provider.

There are an estimated 30,000 students between the ages of 12 and 17 in San Francisco and the city is trying to get the word out via schools, mail and community organizations.

The first free clinic was held at Roosevelt Middle School on March 20. The next clinic is scheduled for May 14 at John O’Connell High School in the Mission.

The California Department of Public Health also runs the Vaccines for Children program that provides free vaccines to kids who are eligible for Medicaid or are under or uninsured.

The clinics were planned after California passed a law in September requiring all students to be vaccinated against the illness, also called pertussis. Until the new legislation was approved, California was only one of few states without such a law, according to Hedden.